I’m usually not big on sharing things from my own life here, but some of these changes are reflected in my professional life as well, and I figure that writing about them here can save answering questions and minimize speculation. 2023 has been a year of big changes for me, and they are pretty much all self-inflicted (in a good way).

The first big change is that I moved to Florida. This has garnered some interesting reactions. From many it has been “You’ve moved to Florida, are you crazy?” noting politics and hurricanes as their primary reason. From others it’s been “Makes sense, given that half of your wardrobe consists of Disney T-Shirts, but still – politics? Hurricanes? Are you crazy?”.

So no, I’m not crazy. Yes, I live 15 minutes from Disneyworld. Surprise, the people here are very friendly. Hurricanes are about as scary as earthquakes. Downsizing to a smaller place and simpler lifestyle can be awesome. I found something really cool to do (see the third big change). And I lump politics and the world situation in a category that I try to pay as little attention to as possible to preserve my own sanity, because while I may not be crazy, the world arguably is.

The second big change is that I am no longer with Full Circle Insights, a company I founded 13 years ago. It was purchased last May by a Venture Equity group called Scaleworks. And while these facts may lead you to all kinds of speculations, the truth is quite boring. I was more than ready to move on (yes, it was my choice), and the new CEO and I worked together to have a nice smooth transition. Curiously enough, I’m still a Salesforce ISV partner through my own company, Desaware, with a free app on the AppExchange, so I’m not leaving the Salesforce world. I have too many friends there to want to do that 😊

The third big change (and part of the reason I choose Orlando in my destination when downsizing), is that I’ve spent the past 9 months as a regular volunteer at the most remarkable place – Give Kids the World Village (https://gktw.org). It’s an institution that hosts kids that are brought in by organizations such as “Make a Wish” whose wish is to visit Disney or Universal. It’s a remarkably happy place, and I encourage anyone reading this to add volunteering there to their next Orlando theme park visit. You can find out how to do that on their website.

It’s been a year since I made the decision to turn my life upside down. And while everything didn’t quite turn out the way I planned, overall, I consider the pivot to have been a success. I don’t know exactly what I’ll be doing in 2024 to fill the extra time now that my time with Full Circle is over, but I’m not worried. I have a long list of possibilities to choose from.

I wish you all a happy new year, and one where all the changes that occur are those you hope for.